Trustees of Reservations Black Swallowwort Control

Name: Julie Richburg  Organization: The Trustees  Phone: 413.217.0509

Site location:
-71.3483428955078 42.4684982299805 269 Monument St. Concord

The Old Manse, historic house and 9 acres of field, orchard, and floodplain along the Concord River

3 acres of native grassland dominated by little bluestem and associated riverbank

Acres in the management area: 3  Listed on EDDMaps? Yes

Habitat type: Field/forest edge, Fields, Stream bank

Was this Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR)? No

Invasives had colonized field and stream bank and were disbursing throughout habitat. Invasive ranged from 100% cover to scattered plants

Initial Overall Percent Cover of Invasives: 26 - 50%

Target species:

Eradication from site

Approximate project start date: August 13, 2009

Years this project has been ongoing: 10

All swallowwort was treated with herbicide

Control method: Chemical, Manual

Disposal method: Left on site

Swallowwort at TOM has been treated annually with Garlon 3A in mid to late summer (July or August). Where plants were abundant they were treated using 4% mix using a mist blower and a 2% mix in a backpack sprayer where they were scattered. Data from 8 monitoring plots is collected annually prior to herbicide treatment.

Funding sources:

Final acres in management: 3

Open to the public: Yes

Able to Provide Tours: No

Success Rate: Moderately successful

Current Overall Percent Cover of Invasives: 0 - 5%

Garlon does a great job on swallowwort, many years of treatment are necessary since small plants are easily overlooked and the seed bank appears to need to be exhausted.
Update: Although it took many years, we have achieved good control but we need to continually search for any seedlings that may get established.